"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Clara’s scream tore through the apartment. It was raw, broken, carrying a grief so overwhelming that it didn’t even resemble a human voice anymore.

Her gaze remained locked on the shattered balcony. There was no body, no blood, and no evidence of someone who had existed moments ago.

Only darkness stretched endlessly beyond the broken railing.

Then she turned towards Lucien and looked at him straight into his eyes.

"You..."

Her voice trembled violently.

"You killed him!"

She lunged at him in a hysterical rage with bloodshot eyes.

Lucien wasn’t in any better condition as the backlash from the Overclock Serum still ravaged through his body, while the strain of pushing his telekinesis beyond its limits due to continuous use had left his limbs feeling heavier than iron.

He couldn’t even raise an arm, but someone else could.

Evelyn stepped forward at once, and before Clara could reach him, blocked her way.

Another razor-sharp ice spike formed in her hand, its tip glinting faintly under the apartment lights that flickered constantly.

But Clara was already far beyond saving as nothing mattered to her now.

She knew she had no way of surviving unless she could kill Lucien yet before she could do it, the spike pierced straight through her chest.

Evelyn gripped the ice spike tighter.

A muffled gasp escaped from her lips before her body collapsed with a thud while Evelyn stared down at the corpse.

It wasn’t her first kill. The man Aiden had crippled earlier had already died by her hand along with the second physical awakener that she killed all by herself.

I think I understand him now.

She thought as she glanced at Lucien who had finally collapsed. His lengthy hair had returned to its original length and all the changes that had happened after consuming Overclock Serum had reverted.

Around them, the survivors watched in silence.

Several of Aiden’s former followers glanced toward Lucien’s exhausted figure. And their eyes lingered a little too long.

The thought crossed their minds almost simultaneously.

Now would be the perfect opportunity to finish him off but before any of them could act on it, Evelyn’s gaze shifted toward the entrance.

Her tone was cold and detached.

"Try it."

Nobody moved, and one by one, their eyes lowered.

Soon after, people began dispersing. Mary subconsciously touched the thin cut on her neck. The bleeding had stopped, leaving behind only a faint sting that reminded her of what had happened.

Not far away, Emily clung tightly to the sleeping with eyes shut tight as Mark stood in front of her. Even then, the young girl had seen enough blood to haunt her thoughts probably for a very long time.

Meanwhile, Andrew’s attention drifted toward Luna.

The woman had collapsed long ago after witnessing Kael’s fate. Even his body wasn’t spared, he had been devoured by that monster from the space tear in one go.

Or by Snowy.

After a moment of hesitation on what to do with the ferret in her daughter’s hands, he exchanged a glance with Mark.

Mark nodded.

That was all the confirmation he needed before he finally let go of the worry. Without another word, he bent down, lifted Luna’s unconscious body, and carried her away.

Everyone departed after Evelyn’s words and the apartment slowly emptied.

One person after another disappeared through the doorway until only silence remained behind.

...

When Lucien stirred awake, a sharp headache immediately stabbed through his skull, forcing a frown onto his face as he struggled to wake up.

The aftereffects of the battle were still there.

The overuse of telekinesis, the spiritual exhaustion, and the serum could be felt all at once, a weird but painful feeling he didn’t like one bit.

It still hurts.

Even so, he could already feel faint traces of energy that had gathered inside him once more.

His SSS-grade talent was absurd in more ways than one.

"You finally woke up." The voice cut through the air, making him focus back onto the situation.

Lucien turned his head and found Evelyn sitting nearby while holding a tray of food in her hands.

"How long was I out for?"

"A little over two days." Nodding, he accepted the tray before focusing on the unfamiliar surroundings.

This wasn’t his room.

"Where are we?"

Evelyn paused for a second and then replied.

"That place is barely habitable anymore, so I shifted most of our stuff downstairs and settled on the twentieth floor."

And during that process, she couldn’t find any food stored inside his room. Her first guess was that he had a space talent, but her guess had been way off the mark after she found out he used telekinesis and lightning.

But she knew not to be too nosy.

"Oh, and I also told Andrew and the others to move beside our flat just like before."

Lucien raised an eyebrow and just as he was about to voice his doubt, Evelyn clarified herself.

"I considered going higher," Evelyn explained. "But nobody lives above the twenty-second floor now, and separating ourselves didn’t seem like a good idea."

Lucien silently agreed, and neither did it matter much to him.

"That reminds me, did anyone consume the awakening fruit?"

"Yes, Andrew himself did. The fight had been too chaotic for him to take the risk so he only did it yesterday evening." She had found out about it after they all relocated downstairs.

That immediately caught his attention.

"What kind of powers did he awaken?" He asked, curious to know if ot was some unusual talent like Aiden’s.

"Before we talk about that, there’s someone you should meet." She didn’t answer him but instead, changed the subject.

Lucien frowned.

"Who?"

"Another awakened resident. I’ll go get him." She left the room with a mysterious smile on her face before returning with a teenager who looked roughly fifteen years old several minutes later.

He had sharp eyes, raven-black hair, and a thin frame that spoke of his life in the past few days without needing any words.

He had an expression formed on his face that suggested he wasn’t entirely comfortable being here.

The moment Lucien looked at him, a screen appeared before his eyes.

---

[Name: Ethan Parker]

[Race: Human]

[Talent: C-grade Talent(Insight)]

[Combat Power: E++]

---

The kid shifted uneasily beneath his scrutiny which Lucien barely noticed.

His attention had already settled on a single word displayed before his eyes.

...insight.